


baby, you can call me monster

by fir8008



Category: JBJ (Band), Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blood, Blood Drinking, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Vampires, but i'm just making up the lore as i go along so, set in an indeterminate pseudo historical period, taedong is an incubus technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 17:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: Taedong is an incubus who falls in love with a humanand thanks to Donghan things don't go as planned
Relationships: Kim Taedong/Yoon Jaechan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	baby, you can call me monster

**Author's Note:**

> hey
> 
> so like almost two years (!!!) ago now, natasha left me a comment about the dynamic of taedong and jaechan from my "give the bruises out like gifts" series as potentially really suiting an arranged marriage au and thus the bee got stuck in my bonnet... but now, nearly two years later this is clearly not an arranged marriage au. i have been trying to write this on and off (of course, mainly off) for this almost two year period and somehow we ended up on a vampire/incubus au and it's way too long for what it is (which is trash) and i'm going to blame this on the fact that i haven't read a good fantasy/paranormal book in several months so i don't know what a good fantasy looks like anymore, so the plot kind of collapses partway and i was making up lore as i was going along so sorry about that
> 
> anyway i hope it's a little bit enjoyable!
> 
> tw: BLOOD (there are lots of blood references throughout because well, vampires), non-graphic mention of self-harm, also this might be stockholm syndrome??? let's not look too deep into it fellas, sexual content (not very explicit) with brief non-graphic mentions of non-consensual somnophilia, non-graphic mentions of killing people 
> 
> title comes from EXO's "Monster"

Taedong is hungry. He’s starving. 

His fangs are aching from the need to eat something. His hunt is going abysmally. Taedong grimaces. He’ll probably have to settle for a less than ideal meal.

Donghan’s philosophy about feeding is different than his. Donghan is a beautiful immortal creature of the night, so he devours the young and beautiful, killing them in their prime and, in his mind, absorbing their beauty. Privately, Taedong thinks Donghan is merely jealous of the beautiful mortal humans so he picks them off for sport. 

Taedong, on the other hand, prefers to pick off more unsavory characters. The humans would be better off without those kinds of people, so no one would miss them if Taedong ate them. Donghan always clicks his tongue at that, warns Taedong about indigestion. 

Unfortunately for Taedong, no one is skulking around the alleys where he usually hunts. His fangs hurt. He needs to eat. 

He picks up a scent and follows it. It’s an attractive one, heady and intoxicating. It probably belongs to the kind of pretty boy Donghan likes to hunt. Taedong frowns at the idea, but he has no choice. It’s going to start getting light again and Taedong needs to sate his hunger, even if it’s only by a tiny bit. So he follows the scent until he reaches a stable. The smell is stronger, hitting him in waves and drawing Taedong in.

The boy the scent belongs to is beautiful. Taedong freezes. His fangs hurt even more. He wants nothing more than to sink his teeth into that unblemished skin and drink him dry. He’s the most attractive target that Taedong’s ever found. His smell is so overwhelming. But Taedong fights with himself. He’d much rather look at this beautiful boy, admire him in all his living, breathing glory. Taedong can feel the sun coming. His hunger still needs to be sated. 

Taedong steals a sheep out of the stable and eats that. 

“You smell.” 

Junwoo hasn’t been alive a whole century yet so Taedong elbows him aside. 

“You smell like livestock,” he clarifies, beginning to follow Taedong. 

“I couldn’t find anything to eat,” Taedong growls. The sheep was barely enough to take the edge off his hunger. Maybe he should’ve just eaten the boy. He’s still starving. He’ll have to go back out and hunt as soon as the sun sets again.

“Donghan says you’re too picky,” Junwoo is still following him. 

“Is there something you want from me?” Taedong snaps. 

Junwoo pouts. “Just trying to be friendly.” 

Taedong sighs. Junwoo had only recently joined them - it wasn’t really big enough to be a full-fledged coven, but it wasn’t just the three of them anymore - Taehyun, Donghan, and Taedong. Junwoo had found them by nosily poking around the dark parts of the city and found himself in the lair of an ancient vampire and two incubi. Taehyun had allowed him to stay, since Junwoo would probably get himself discovered and killed otherwise, and now it was the four of them. 

“I’m still hungry,” Taedong says apologetically. 

Junwoo tilts his head. “If you don’t drink blood, can’t you just have sex? You’re an incubus, right?” 

“Two different kinds of hunger,” Taedong explains. “Donghan does both at once but I take care of that separately.” 

“What did you eat to smell like a barn?” 

“A sheep.”

“I need to hunt tonight,” Junwoo offers, “you can come and hunt with me.” 

“Thank you. I’ll need to.” 

Junwoo picks up the scent. 

“Do you smell that?” he asks dreamily. “Whoever that is smells delicious.” 

Taedong knows that smell. It’s the smell of the beautiful boy in the stable. “I’ll bet you Donghan’s hunting that one,” Taedong says, hoping he doesn’t sound nervous. 

“Probably,” Junwoo pouts. 

“What were you eating before you found us?” Taedong asks as they’re walking on a rooftop. 

“Whoever I came across when I was hungry,” Junwoo shrugs. “I was starving all the time. I wasn’t picky.”

Taedong smells the air. There’s something unpleasant wafting from the alley. It’s a man, reeking of drink. Taedong glances down at the man, stumbling around. There’s a stray dog wandering the alley that the man feebly kicks at. Taedong sighs. 

“This one’s mine,” he tells Junwoo. 

Junwoo makes a face. “He smells awful.” 

“There’s no use for a sack of bones like that,” Taedong shrugs. “I’ll see you back there. Donghan’s a bit territorial, so don’t track anything that smells too nice.”

Junwoo nods and salutes him as Taedong drops into the alley below, baring his fangs. 

Taedong feels much better after properly feeding. Donghan argues with him that eating scummy characters can’t taste good - Taedong, from past experience, knows they taste much worse than the type Donghan likes - but Taedong contends it’s better to wipe out the unsightly people from the city rathering than preying on innocents. 

He picks up the smell of the boy again, and crinkles his nose. There’s a coppery smell cutting through its sweetness. Is it blood? Taedong tracks the scent back to the stable, where he hears another voice - and smells some revolting scent. 

“...will teach you not to lose my livestock again!” 

There’s a slam of a door and then the sound of muffled sobs. Taedong drops down to get a closer look. The boy is sitting on the floor of the stable. His hands look bloody, like they’ve been beaten raw. Taedong’s mind is addled by the smell of blood. He’s glad he ate before or else the scent of blood would’ve completely sent him into a frenzy. He can control himself to keep himself hidden as he watches the boy gingerly turn on a faucet and rinse his hands free of blood. His pale cheeks are streaked with tears and dirt. Taedong’s insides coil with rage. That revolting smelling man must have beaten him for the sheep Taedong stole. How could anyone hurt such a pretty creature as this boy though? 

The sun is coming, so Taedong can’t linger too long, but he decides to come back the following night - maybe with medicine - to check on the boy. 

“How was your night?” Donghan asks. 

“I found something to eat,” Taedong answers noncommittally. He knows if he lets slip about some beauty Donghan will want to devour him.

“So did Junwoo, he came back looking bloated. Must’ve found a porker.” 

Taedong shrugs. 

“I found the prettiest little thing,” Donghan says with a satisfied sigh. “He was delicious. It’s too bad you can’t eat them twice.” 

“You do feed twice,” Taedong says dryly. “You take your pleasure from them too.” 

“Because I am an efficient hunter.” Donghan gloats. “You’re so noble about blood feeding, but you satisfy your lust the old ways.” 

Taedong’s hair stands up on the back of his neck. “It’s a necessity.” 

“Yes, yes, but it’s so amusing. You’ll only take blood from the bottom feeders of this place but you’ll satisfy your lust on sleeping victims.” 

“I don’t enjoy doing that,” Taedong says heatedly. “If they’re asleep, I don’t kill them. You kill all your victims.” 

“I am highly efficient,” Donghan says dismissively. 

Taedong decides to find Junwoo, who is laying flat on his bed and groaning. 

“I took on too big a target and overate,” he whines. 

“Do you know where to get human goods?” Taedong asks. “Like a salve?”

Junwoo looks up. “Like a healing salve? For cuts? You don’t get cuts, do you?” 

“I just wanted to have it,” Taedong shrugs. 

“Yeah, I know where to get some,” Junwoo says. “Just give me a while, okay? I need to digest.” 

Junwoo slips out at dusk and returns with a flat, round tin. Taedong pops it open and it’s full of a kind of salve. It smells slightly minty. 

“Don’t know how well it’s going to work on people like us,” Junwoo muses. “We heal pretty well on our own, don’t we? As long as we’re eating properly.” 

Taedong shrugs. He actually doesn’t eat properly, he waits until his bloodthirst is at its most unbearable before he goes hunting, eats only one victim, and then waits until he’s ravenous again. He wonders if this kind of salve would even help him, but he also doesn’t do anything particularly risky, so he doesn’t need it. Anyway, he already planned to give it to the beautiful boy. 

Taedong goes back out that night, following the scent of the boy back to the stable. He drops the tin of salve onto the floor so it clatters loudly on the wood. The boy jumps and looks around anxiously. He carefully approaches the tin and picks it up gingerly, continuing to glance around furtively as he opens it. Recognition crosses his face as he closes the tin and with one final look, pockets it. Taedong lingers, watching the boy wash down the stable. Taedong wonders if it’s normal for people to clean out their stables this close to dawn, but is pleased when he sees the boy stop and reach back into his pocket for the salve. He opens the tin and uses a small amount on his hands. Taedong smiles as he heads back to the house. 

Taedong makes it a habit to slip out each night to go to the stable and watch the boy. Taedong is mesmerized by his beauty and spends as long as he can hanging out in the rafter of the stable and watching him work. 

He wishes he could come every night, but Taedong is aware he needs to go satisfy his other hunger. Taedong hates hunting for prey to satisfy his lust. He’s an incubus, so it’s unavoidable, but he hates searching for victims. 

Taedong is just glad he doesn’t have a soul to worry about. 

His method is always the same. He looks for open windows and people sleeping on their stomachs. His own stomach twists when he finds what he’s looking for as he tries to excuse this kind of hunting. The people in this town need to lock their windows. If they just locked their windows, Taedong wouldn’t be able to enter, so they could avoid this. Taedong needs to do this to survive, and he vaguely thinks about the boy in the stable, but he doesn’t want to touch him, so he goes back to this method of hunting. 

Taedong’s hunting is successful, even though it meant he couldn’t go and observe the boy, and when he returns, Donghan looks pleased. 

“I’ve scouted the most adorable prey,” he croons. “A beautiful little thing. A real pearl among swine. Real swine, in fact. Little farmhand. How can something so pretty do such hard physical labor?” 

Taedong is immediately on edge. “Really? I thought farmhands were beneath your refined taste.” 

“He’s prettier than the rest of them,” Donghan says dismissively. “Anyway, he smells much more appetizing.” 

“Where did you find someone like that?” Taedong asks. 

Donghan smirks. “What’s this? You sound interested. I told you, eating all those bad people will upset your stomach.” Donghan smiles wide enough to show his fangs. “Maybe I’ll share.” 

Taedong follows Donghan on his hunt and when Donghan picks up a scent, Taedong knows where they’re heading. Taedong’s mind races, wondering how to stop Donghan, or lead him elsewhere, but he knows that Donghan is too good a tracker to be led astray. When they reach the stable, the boy is already there cleaning out a trough. 

“Isn’t he a beauty?” Donghan smiles predatorily. “I’ll bet his blood tastes delicious just from the smell of him.” 

Taedong catches him by the arm. “Donghan,” he says, trying to sound sharp and not anxious. “I’ve been following this target for a while, waiting for the right time. You can’t…” 

“Like I said,” Donghan interrupts, jerking his arm free. “I’ll share.” 

“Donghan, what are you going to do?” 

“Oh, I’m just going to scare him.” 

Taedong doesn’t react fast enough as Donghan drops down in front of the boy and smiles showing his fangs. “Hello there, beautiful.” 

And then the boy faints. 

“Listen,” Donghan hisses. Taedong ignores him. “Listen!” 

“Listen to what, Donghan?” 

“You’re taking the fall for this. Not me! Maybe you liked the old days, getting hunted all the time, angry humans ready to kill you lurking around every corner, maybe living dangerously really got you off, but I happen to be very glad I survived that time period and lived to see another century!” Donghan snarls as he tries to keep pace with Taedong. 

“No one’s taking a fall!” Taedong barks as he finally reaches his room. 

Donghan scoffs. “Because Taehyun will love that you brought a human here.” 

Taedong carefully lays the still unconscious boy down on the bed. He’s even more beautiful up close, and the warm, sweet smell of his blood is so enticing. Taedong is happy both his thirst for blood and his lust have both been recently sated, or else it would be very hard to control himself so close to this beautiful human. 

“He’s harmless,” Taedong says softly, brushing hair off the boy’s face. 

“Harmless! He’s a human! If you let him out of your sight he might escape and bring the whole town here!” Donghan’s eyes narrow. “Unless it was your plan all along to take him as a captive and keep him as a pet. You do seem to like doing that.” 

Taedong whips around to glare at Donghan. “Watch your fucking mouth.” 

Donghan glares back at him. “You’re putting us all in danger by keeping him here and alive. Just let me eat him.” 

Taedong stalks over to Donghan. “You’re not going to touch him.” 

“Then you eat him!” 

“Eat whom?” 

Taedong and Donghan freeze. Taehyun is standing in the doorway of Taedong’s room. “What’s going on here?” 

“Taedong brought a human here,” Donghan says. “He wants a pet.”

“I won’t let him get out,” Taedong protests. “We’re not in any danger.” 

Taehyun nods his head and beckons them out of the room. Taedong shuts the door behind him, holding onto the knob for support. Taehyun is their leader, the eldest of them by several centuries. Taedong knows that Taehyun won’t hesitate to do anything that will keep him alive, even if it means killing Taedong. 

“The human is your responsibility,” Taehyun says shortly. “He has a strong smell. If he attracts other vampires here and they are unfriendly, they’re your responsibility to dispatch. And if he escapes and alerts other humans and puts us in danger, we’ll leave you behind to the mobs. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Taedong replies. 

Taehyun studies him carefully. “I thought you outgrew this,” he says pensively. “When I met you, you told me you wanted to leave that kind of life.” 

Taedong shifts uncomfortably. “This is not the same.” 

Taehyun raises his eyebrows. “It’s not?” 

Taedong can’t say anything as Taehyun sweeps away and Donghan closely follows. He sighs heavily as he goes back into the room. 

The boy is awake and when Taedong enters, he scrambles backwards on the bed, pressing himself against the headboard, shaking. 

“If you’re going to kill me,” he says in a tiny, wobbling voice. “Just do it fast. Please, get it over with.” 

Taedong blinks. “I don’t want to kill you.” 

The boy makes a small, distressed noise in the back of his throat. Taedong grimaces, realizing that this boy must have heard lots of stories about what vampires do to humans they capture. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Taedong emphasizes. “I didn’t even intend to bring you here.” The boy shrinks back further as Taedong approaches and sits beside him. “What’s your name?” 

The boy just presses his lips together and tries to shift further away. Taedong sighs as he takes the boy’s wrist. Surprisingly, the boy doesn’t try to fight him off, though he tries to lean farther away. Taedong uncurls the boy’s hand and strokes the scars on his palm. 

“You were being abused by the owner of that stable.” 

“I deserved it,” the boy mutters. “I lost a sheep.” 

“I ate it,” Taedong says. “I didn’t know you’d be beaten for it. I gave you that salve.” The scent of blood is so strong, it wouldn’t take much for Taedong to rip the wounds back open and drink. 

“My name is Jaechan,” the boy says quietly. 

“I have no desire to harm you.” Taedong says. “I had to bring you here because you’d seen us. But I don’t plan on letting anyone hurt you.”

Jaechan blinks at him owlishly. “But you aren’t going to let me go?” he asks.

Taedong frowns. “I can’t, not after you’ve seen us. Even if you promise not to say anything, we can’t trust you because you’re a human.” He strokes the veins on Jaechan’s wrist with his thumb. The boy’s skin is so warm beneath his cold touch. “Why would you want to go back? You’ll just be abused more. You can live well here. I can protect you from the others here, they won’t bother you.” 

Jaechan casts his eyes around Taedong’s windowless room. Taedong thinks Jaechan must feel like he’s being condemned. 

“I can keep you company,” Taedong offers hastily. “I’ll treat you very well.” This is mortifying. Taedong has been alive for centuries and this boy is reducing him to this. 

Jaechan doesn’t make any move to offer his assent. He must know he doesn’t really have any choice in the matter since Taedong’s already told him that he won’t be let go. He pulls his hand free from Taedong’s grasp and rubs at his wrist fretfully. 

Taedong reaches to stroke the boy’s hair, but he flinches away. “I meant what I said,” Taedong says. “I don’t have any intention to hurt you. Sleep. You don’t have to be afraid.” 

Jaechan just pulls the covers up to his chin and continuously glances at Taedong until Taedong decides to get up and leave his room. 

The days pass quickly. Jaechan is still deathly afraid of Taedong and so Taedong tries to keep his distance. The only time when Jaechan relaxes is when he eats, and Taedong notices that he always seems ravenously hungry, eating with abandon and dribbling food onto his hands. Taedong thinks he must have never eaten meals properly. 

“Why were you working in that stable anyway?” Taedong asks as Jaechan is gnawing on a chicken bone. “It wasn’t your family’s, was it?” 

Jaechan shakes his head. “I was sold to them. I was just their servant. In fact, they’re probably furious I disappeared.” 

Taedong frowns. “Did you really want to go back?” 

Jaechan shrugs. “I didn’t, but working is all I know. Being trapped here all day… I don’t know how many days I’ve been here. I can only tell time has passed when you come here and bring me food.” 

“I’m sorry,” Taedong says. “But I really can’t let you go.” 

“Why are you keeping me alive then?” Jaechan looks at him miserably. “You’re a vampire, aren’t you? But you haven’t…” 

“Do you want me to bite you?” Taedong asks. Because he wants to. Taedong hasn’t wanted anything more than to sink his fangs into this pretty boy’s neck and drink his blood. 

Jaechan’s eyes widen and he inches away from Taedong.

“See? You don’t want me to bite you, so why would I? I told you that I don’t want to harm you.” Taedong sighs. “I’m sorry. Donghan forced my hand by approaching you. He was going to kill you, but I didn’t want that. But we couldn’t let you go.” 

“You said you had been watching me,” Jaechan says. “Why?” 

“Because you’re beautiful,” Taedong says. “I was never going to do anything more than watch you.” 

Jaechan stares at him with an incredulous expression. Taedong expects for Jaechan to not believe him. He’s a monster and Jaechan is right to fear him. 

Taedong’s fangs start aching much sooner than he anticipates and it makes him more nervous than before. He can’t go out and hunt all night because he doesn’t trust Donghan to not go into his room and devour Jaechan. Junwoo is too young to have much self control and could be led by his nose and find Jaechan there defenseless and eat him. 

The most obvious solution would be to just drink Jaechan’s blood, but Taedong finds this to be the worst option. He always lets his bloodthirst get to dire levels before he hunts and his self-control is usually razor thin. He could try feeding off of Jaechan’s blood, but it would be extremely risky considering how hungry he is now. The risk of killing him would be too high.

Taedong could request Taehyun’s help even though it would surely have a high cost. Taehyun was so many centuries older, his need for blood was less pronounced than that of younger vampires. As the head of their group, not even Donghan would dare to cross him, but Taehyun didn’t approve of Taedong allowing Jaechan to live. Asking for Taehyun’s protection would require Taedong return the favor to Taehyun many times over and Taehyun knows all of Taedong’s weak points. 

Taedong is thinking of how to approach Taehyun when the scent of blood cuts through his mind. In the throes of his bloodlust, he can’t exactly see how Jaechan managed to cut himself, all he can sense is how much his fangs hurt, how sweet and defenseless Jaechan is now, and how easy it would be to just bite him. 

“What are you doing?” Jaechan’s voice is far away. 

The blood on Jaechan’s wrist is too tempting and Taedong is too weak to fight it. He bares his fangs and feels Jaechan try to jerk away, but what is his mere human strength against Taedong’s? Taedong sinks his fangs into Jaechan’s wrist and the taste of his blood overwhelms his senses. 

Decades of drinking from bottom feeders makes Jaechan’s blood taste all the more sweet. It reminds Taedong of his earliest centuries, when he drank blood not to survive, but for pleasure, like Donghan still does. It feels euphoric to experience this kind of taste, and it sends sparks of arousal through Taedong’s body. But he can also feel Jaechan growing weaker on the other side of his fangs so Taedong slowly works his jaw back open, releasing Jaechan’s bloodied wrist. The sight and smell of blood is so overpowering, Taedong doesn’t know how the others haven’t broken down his door, but he’s grateful they haven’t. He feels feral and is glad he can’t see his reflection because he’s sure he’d have blood dripping down his chin. 

Clarity comes back to him slowly, the pain of his blood hunger subsided, and he can see Jaechan, unconscious but breathing shallowly, his skin paper white and drenched in sweat. The drying red of his wrist is even more stark and Taedong suddenly feels deeply ashamed for his loss of control. Any tentative trust between them has been dashed now. Taedong tears a pillowcase and wraps it around Jaechan’s wound. 

“I’m sorry,” Taedong whispers softly. “So sorry.” 

It’s not like Jaechan can hear him now, and even less likely he will forgive Taedong. 

The room still smells of blood and it’s beginning to drive Taedong crazy. He doesn’t need to drink blood again, his fangs have stopped hurting, but the desire to sink his fangs back into Jaechan’s skin is overwhelming. Taedong can practically hear Donghan taunting him about abstaining too much. If he indulged every once in a while it probably wouldn’t be so hard to resist temptation now. 

Taedong finally decides to leave the room to breathe fresh air only to come face to face with Donghan outside his door.

“What?” he asks warily. 

“You bled him,” Donghan says. “Can you imagine, Taehyun and I are enjoying our peaceful evening when suddenly the smell of blood wafts out of your room and we had to pin poor Junwoo down to keep him from eating your little pet.”

Taedong winces. “It was a mistake.” 

“Taehyun’s disappointed in you,” Donghan says. “You made that impassioned plea that you didn’t want to be like the other incubi who keep human pets and take what they want from them, and yet here you are drinking your human’s blood.” 

“It’s not the same,” Taedong says weakly. He believes himself less and less though. 

Donghan shrugs. “This is our nature,” he says. He sounds like he almost pities Taedong. “Of course you can’t fight against your nature.” 

“It’s not nature,” Taedong protests. “I don’t like how you hunt, but I admit that drinking blood and needing to satisfy our lust is part of our nature. What I did was not like that. What I did was despicable.” 

“How is your pet doing?” 

Taedong grimaces. “He fainted when I drank his blood. He hasn’t woken up yet.” Before Taedong left the room, Jaechan had still been unconscious, though his breathing was becoming more and more labored. “Is Junwoo…” 

“Fine.” Donghan shrugs again. “He’s young, so his self-control isn’t very good. Taehyun had him under control. Honestly, I wanted to go kick down your door too.” Donghan smirks. “You’ll share, won’t you?” 

Taedong glares at him. “Don’t joke about that.” 

“Well, Taehyun wants to have a talk with you, so you should go find him.” 

“Do not enter this room,” Taedong growls. 

Donghan sighs heavily. “You’re no fun. I just want a little nibble.” 

“Donghan.”

“I won’t, I won’t. Taehyun already ordered me to stand guard so Junwoo doesn’t gobble him up.” 

Taedong is loath to leave Donghan alone but he has to. Taehyun summoned him and so Taedong must see him. He finds himself dragging his feet, because he knows that Taehyun will be so disappointed in him for this. 

When Taedong had been a young incubus, he’d fallen in with a crowd of incubi who kept humans as almost lovers, using them to satisfy their need for blood and for other pleasures, and in return the humans seemed rather enamored with their incubi paramours. It had seemed like such a cushy and glamorous lifestyle to Taedong, who had known nothing but skulking around dark alleys looking for easy prey and nearly starving to death. 

He’d spent nearly a century living among them, cycling through young and beautiful human lovers, drinking their blood and enjoying their bodies. But soon he started growing bored of living so extravagantly, as the decades wore on all the beautiful faces started to look the same. He hardly ever felt real hunger, and the overindulgence had dulled the pleasure he took from having a lover anyway. Taedong had been so utterly bored, and so when it came time for him to find a new lover, he had been searching for something different. 

What he had found was a beautiful, defiant boy the other incubi had brought in. Before, Taedong had been under the impression that the humans that mingled with them wanted to be there. Of course, thinking about the alternative was rather unpleasant, so Taedong always wanted to assume he had willing and eager partners. This boy had no qualms about expressing his lack of desire to be among monsters and when Taedong had decided this boy held the key to curing his boredom it ignited a long struggle. 

Thinking back on it, the excitement had been the hunt. The boy didn’t want him, so Taedong had to chase. He’d grown heavy and lethargic from his century of excess so it had been hard on him. In total, he actually never caught the boy up until the very end. Finally, when Taedong had grown lean and hungry from his singular need to hunt this one boy, he’d caught him. The boy had fought like an animal trying to get free but Taedong was stronger and it had been a futile effort. 

“You’re a monster,” had been the boy’s parting words to him. 

Taedong had grown tired of chasing, tired of fighting, and at the end this insult, this truth, had been too much. He became angry and he could clearly remember the way the boy’s face had changed from defiant to fearful and then Taedong latched onto the boy’s throat and drank until he felt his body slump lifelessly beneath him. When he finished feeding, when his anger had finally simmered away, Taedong was alone, covered in blood, and holding a dead body. 

Taedong always knew he was a monster, but for the first time he had felt like one. 

The other incubi had been indifferent, and reassured him that this kind of thing happened from time to time. After all, it was their nature, and humans weren’t all that important. Taedong knew then he had to leave, so he did. He wandered for an unknowable amount of time until he met Donghan, who’d been run out of his old coven, and when he’d asked why, Donghan just shrugged. 

“Oh, I’m an extravagant little shit and I kept getting the whole coven into hot water. They couldn’t take it anymore so I got run out.” 

Taedong was glad for Donghan’s companionship, but he was less comfortable with the cavalier way Donghan hunted - frequently, indiscriminately, and Donghan liked to play with his food. It reminded him of the old times, of the place Taedong was running from, and it made him uneasy. 

It was during this time they met Taehyun. True to form, Donghan had been too enticed by high profile prey and had sent the town they’d been squatting in into a vampire hunting tizzy. Donghan slept with some noble lady, which was bad enough because he’d weakened her significantly by draining away her energy, but then he’d bitten her neck and drank her blood. 

The problem was he neglected to kill her. So she was alive and roaming the town.

And she knew Donghan’s face.

Donghan had tried to play it cool, reassuring Taedong that he’d been in plenty of tight spots like this before, though that had done nothing to reassure Taedong at all. He had seriously considered making a break for it and leaving Donghan to the mobs but before he’d been forced to make a decision, Taehyun found them. 

Taedong could sense how much older Taehyun was than them, how many centuries he’d been alive. It scared him, because Taehyun wasn’t one of them and vampires sometimes killed off incubi for encroaching on their territories. Taedong and Donghan were not only encroaching but Donghan’s carelessness had put them all in grave danger. Humans were hunting them now and the town wasn’t safe for any of them. 

“So here are the two troublemakers,” Taehyun had said, his words freezing the air around them. “I thought I smelled a couple of incubi.” 

Taedong had been terrified, more terrified than he had ever been when facing any other danger. Part of Taedong thought one day he’d find himself on the wrong end of a stake, but he had never imagined that he’d have his throat torn out by an ancient vampire. He heard it was a terrible way to go, that vampires didn’t like the taste of the little blood incubi had and so they just left an incubus to die slowly, let them suffer. Taedong didn’t want to die, not like that.

“Such a shame. This is a beautiful city, but you’ve tainted it and spoiled my retirement.” Taehyun had bared his fangs. “What shall I do? I’ve never liked incubi like you two. You don’t know how to just kill. You always play with your food.”

“No!” Taedong didn’t know what came over him, other than the utter fear of dying. “No! I’m not like that anymore, I don’t want to be like that anymore; I want to change!” 

“I learned my lesson!” Donghan added quickly. “I’m getting tired of being run out of places! I’ve already been thrown out of one coven, I’m not looking to get staked on top of that!” 

Taehyun had looked at them oddly, a pair of incubi begging for their lives while the city behind them readied spears and torches to hunt for monsters. Maybe it was because delaying to kill them both would have hindered Taehyun’s own escape, but Taehyun had just inclined his head - regally, authoritatively - and said, “Very well. Follow me then,” and they fled the city. 

It was Taehyun who taught Taedong to hunt only bottom feeders, to make the world for humans better, and to lessen the guilt of killing for blood. He couldn’t give any advice to Taedong about sating his lust, but recommended against methods that caused Taedong’s prey to lose their lives. Donghan was stuck in his ways, but he stayed out of trouble under Taehyun’s sharp eye, and they’d found a new city to settle down in and had remained there peacefully for quite some time. Junwoo joined their little brood and things had been going well up until Taedong brought a human into their midst. 

“Taedong,” Taehyun doesn’t wait for Taedong to greet him, or even to try explaining his actions away. “I really thought you were serious about changing. I suppose old habits die hard, even for one as young as you.” 

“I am serious,” Taedong says weakly. “What happened was a mistake.” 

“A mistake?” 

“He was bleeding, and I hadn’t hunted in a while, so I just…” Taedong sighs. “I was actually going to ask you for your help in keeping Donghan and Junwoo away from him so I could go hunt but then… It was a mistake.” 

“What are you going to do with him? You can’t keep him around forever.” 

“I don’t know,” Taedong confesses. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” 

Taehyun looks at him appraisingly and Taedong shrinks. For so long Taedong had abided by the rules Taehyun outlined for him, the rules Taehyun himself followed when he finally needed to drink blood, and nothing made him feel worse than the knowledge he let Taehyun down. 

“I always thought Donghan was the one who wouldn’t change,” Taehyun says finally. “I didn’t think you would relapse. It always appeared to me that you’d be able to do what I told you.” 

“I still can,” Taedong says meekly. 

“But will you? Now that you’ve tasted the kind of human blood you always wanted to taste? What about your lust? Will you be able to have anyone else but him?” 

“I don’t know.” Taedong feels so ashamed. When he drank Jaechan’s blood, he had become aroused. Since he left that old group of incubi, he hadn’t experienced that, hadn’t wanted to take both of his pleasures at the same time. The only thing that stopped him was the fear of killing Jaechan, if anything else, Taedong didn’t want to kill him.

Taehyun gazes at him. “Will you continue drinking his blood?” 

“I don’t know,” Taedong repeats. “I don’t even know if he’ll wake up. He fainted when I bit him and still hasn’t woken up.”

“I told Junwoo that he isn’t allowed to bite your pet, but he is so young he lacks control. If he bites, it will be because his instincts overtook him, so you are not allowed to kill Junwoo.” 

“I’d never…” Taedong’s mouth feels dry. “I wouldn’t…” 

“It’s not uncommon for our kind to fight amongst ourselves for food. There’s no lack of it in this city, but when it is so close and so fragrant,” Taehyun shows his fangs, “even one as old as I can feel tempted.” 

“I will take care of him,” Taedong says weakly. “Please, let him be.” 

“I am disciplined,” Taehyun replies. “I have no need to drink blood for enjoyment. Like I tried to teach you, only drink enough to survive, only take from those who don’t deserve the life their blood gives.” 

“Yes,” Taedong nods. “I still believe that. Even though I made a mistake, I still believe that.” 

Taehyun gives him one more cursory look and nods. “You should return to your pet. Donghan is undisciplined, though from the smell of the air, he hasn’t taken a bite out of him yet.” 

Taedong rushes back to his room where Donghan is leaning against the door. 

“The smell of him is too much,” Donghan sighs. “I just want a little taste. You should share. If not for me, you wouldn’t have him imprisoned in this room.” 

“Leave me,” Taedong growls. 

Donghan lets out another petulant sounding huff, but he leaves. Taedong takes a steadying breath as he steps into his room. 

The first thing he sees is that Jaechan is awake, and he jumps backwards at Taedong’s entrance. 

“No,” he says quietly. “No.” 

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Taedong says, but the words ring hollow. He’s already hurt Jaechan after swearing not to. His words are meaningless now. 

Taedong approaches the bed and sits, taking Jaechan’s injured arm. Jaechan tries to pull away but Taedong doesn’t let go. The wound and Taedong’s bite are both healing. Taedong takes the tin of salve from the bedside table and begins to rub it onto the wound. Jaechan hisses in discomfort, but Taedong continues.

“How did this happen?” he asks. “I didn’t see anything, I could only smell your blood.” 

“I did it to myself.” Jaechan answers. 

Taedong freezes. “What?” 

“The dinner tray,” Jaechan continues. “There was a knife. So I just,” he mimes a slashing motion. “But you were there as soon as it happened, I didn’t think you’d be there.” 

“Why would you do that to yourself?” Taedong demands. “Why were you trying to die?” 

Jaechan glares at him. “You’ve kept me trapped here for so long. I don’t even know how long it’s been. I can’t leave this room. I haven’t seen the sun since the morning you captured me. You wanted to drink my blood, didn’t you? That’s why you’re fattening me up and keeping me here!”

“I never meant to bite you, and I didn’t want to bring you here!” Taedong protests. “I am sorry for my loss of control. I’m glad you didn’t die.” 

Jaechan says nothing as Taedong finishes rubbing salve onto his wound and wrenches his arm away and cradles it to his chest. Taedong has half a mind to be angry. He could have easily killed Jaechan in his hungry state. Or worse, he could renege on his vows to change and start using Jaechan to please himself, drink from him when Taedong didn’t actually feel any hunger for blood. If Taedong hadn’t intervened in the first place, Jaechan would be long dead.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Taedong repeats. “You may not believe me, but it’s true.” 

Jaechan continues to glare at him as he shifts further away. 

For the next few days, Taedong watches Jaechan closely, and only feeds him food that can be spooned. Jaechan’s arm begins to heal and his color improves. It makes Taedong feel more at ease knowing that Jaechan survived his bite. He leaves Jaechan alone as Jaechan’s health continues to improve, though he still doesn’t let trays with anything too sharp enter the room. Jaechan doesn’t seem to glare at him as much either, which is also a relief. As much as it’s an inevitable thing, Taedong doesn’t actually want Jaechan to hate him. 

Even though Jaechan is an easy target, even though Taedong could have him as he slept to satisfy his mounting lust and Jaechan might not even notice, Taedong wants to cling to the principles Taehyun taught him. Even if he can’t drink the blood of another bottom feeder ever again because Jaechan’s sweetness has spoiled his palate, he wants to keep himself from touching Jaechan. 

On a night when both Donghan and Junwoo are out hunting, Taedong feels secure enough to leave to hunt. Jaechan is sleeping, and Taedong thinks he can easily make it back before dawn, back before the others. The idea gives him a great sense of relief.

But Taedong soon learns that his relief makes him lazy and that somehow he’s managed to leave his door unlocked so he returns from successfully hunting only to find his door open and Jaechan nowhere in sight. 

Fear seizes him. He’s royally fucked up. If Jaechan has somehow made it out, if he’s gone for help, it’s on Taedong’s head. How could he be so careless? How could he let himself get so complacent? And if Jaechan didn’t run away, what about if Donghan or Junwoo ran into him, back from their own hunts? Was Taedong about to smell more blood? 

Taedong forces himself to calm down. He can track Jaechan. Even though the sun is rising now, Taedong is willing to go out into the light if it means he can bring back Jaechan unharmed. He finds Jaechan’s scent without much trouble and hurries to follow it, unsure of what to expect. 

Part of Taedong thinks he will find Jaechan half out of a window trying to jump out and escape, but instead he finds Jaechan standing in front of the large windows staring outside. As Taedong approaches the light stings his skin, only tempered a bit by the glass. 

When he grabs Jaechan’s arm to turn him around, Jaechan blinks at him, in tears. 

“Jaechan?” Taedong’s resolve crumbles in an instant. “What’s wrong?” 

“The sun,” Jaechan answers, reaching up to wipe his eyes. “I haven’t seen the sun… How long has it been? How long have you kept me here?” 

“I’m sorry,” Taedong says softly. “I really am sorry.” Though it hurts him, he pulls Jaechan back into the dark recesses of their home and leads him back to his room. 

They walk in silence and Taedong watches Jaechan’s tears dry and his expression drift into resignation. It pains him. Taedong doesn’t want it to truly be the last time Jaechan sees the sun, but what else can he do? Even if Jaechan swore to never tell, the others would never allow it. The only other option would be to kill Jaechan. Being locked up was certainly keeping Jaechan soft and frail; Taedong had noticed the muscles Jaechan had from doing farm work were beginning to soften from his extended bed rest. Compared to Taedong’s inhuman strength, Jaechan would never be able to overpower him, much less the other three who were better fed and sharper than Taedong. 

“Oh my, what’s this? Taking your pet for a morning stroll?” 

Taedong freezes, reflexively pushing Jaechan behind him. Donghan smells of blood of sex and he smirks and swaggers up to Jaechan without fear. He and Taedong both know that fresh off a hunt, Donghan is stronger than him. 

“Hello, gorgeous. Do you remember me?” 

Jaechan has gone pale and nods jerkily, eyes wide and fearful. 

“My name is Donghan,” Donghan bows and takes hold of Jaechan’s hand. “It’s a pleasure.” 

It happens too fast for Taedong to stop it. He should’ve known Donghan had something up his sleeve, but he hadn’t intervened. All of a sudden there’s a flash of white fangs and then the cutting scent of blood. 

“You!” Taedong says furiously, pulling Jaechan away from Donghan. Donghan smiles and licks the blood off his lips. Jaechan holds his bleeding hand to his chest and trembles. 

“I can understand why you’re so opposed to sharing,” Donghan says. “He’s a sweet one.” 

“How dare you,” Taedong fumes. “Taehyun told you -” 

“No, no, not me. Just Junwoo. Taehyun knows me too well.” 

Taedong pushes Jaechan down the hall and back to his room. He bolts the door, feeling rage swelling within him. It was so like Donghan to be so crafty, but was he not satisfied from his hunt? Or did he just see the opportunity and take it? And now, the smell of blood was going to linger in his windowless room for days. 

Taedong turns to Jaechan, who has crumpled onto the bed, and takes his hand. The bite is barely a bite, it’s merely a shallow puncture wound where Donghan managed to prick his fangs, but Donghan is an adept hunter and he aimed right at the veins in the back of Jaechan’s hand. The smell of blood will addle his brain if he doesn’t stop it, so Taedong lifts Jaechan’s hand to his mouth and laps at the blood. Jaechan whimpers, but doesn’t pull away. Taedong hadn’t been craving blood, but the taste of Jaechan’s made him want to bite into his hand and drink. 

When the bleeding stops, Taedong lets go of Jaechan’s hand. Jaechan has gone even paler and more sweaty from the blood loss and he collapses against the bed as Taedong bandages the back of his hand.

“I won’t let him do that again,” he says firmly. 

Jaechan does not reply. 

In the weeks that follow Jaechan remains weak and in bed. The wound on his hand heals faster than the one from his wrist, but he seems more disturbed by it and spends most nights tossing and turning. Taedong watches him carefully, trying to make sure Jaechan isn’t getting sick. The weather also begins to turn warmer, and Jaechan grows more agitated. Taedong’s room has no ventilation, though the changing seasons never bothered Taedong, whose undead body was always cold. For Jaechan, who was very much alive, the heat bothered him, and Taedong could see the sweat forming on his body as he tried to sleep. 

Taedong tries to help, changing to lighter bed linens and offering to fan Jaechan while he slept, though Jaechan refused the latter. Eventually Jaechan turns to sleeping in less clothing, and the sight of bare skin presents a new challenge to Taedong’s self control. 

The air gets hotter and thicker as the week drags on. Smog hangs low over the city, and even Taedong begins to feel how unpleasantly the air hangs over them. He feels guilty for keeping Jaechan locked up, but even by the windows of their home, there’s hardly any cool breezes. 

“It’s hot,” Junwoo whines. 

“Can you feel it?” Taedong asks. “I barely notice it.” 

Junwoo sulks. “Taehyun said it might be because I’m so young and my human parts are still working. I can’t wait until I’m as old as him and don’t feel heat or cold or even hunger.” 

Taedong snorts. Junwoo mentioned he had been bitten when he was a teenager in his human lifetime, and even by vampire years he was still young. 

“Maybe when you hit your century mark,” Taedong says.

Junwoo shrugs and goes back to his sulking. Unlike Junwoo, who was still young enough to keep certain vestiges of his human life, Taedong, like all other incubi, had been born a demon and had stopped aging after he grew into his adult face and body. He had never really felt hot or cold, except when it was extreme weather. He wonders how marked the difference is between what his body feels and what Jaechan feels as it slowly gets hotter. 

The heat doesn’t dissipate with nightfall and Taedong watches Jaechan turn fitfully in bed, kicking off the sheets irritably and flipping over his pillows looking for the cool side. He feels bad, watching Jaechan struggle.

Finally, Jaechan sits up and yanks his shirt off, balling it up and throwing it angrily onto the ground. Taedong picks it up and sits beside Jaechan, who is so wound up that he doesn’t even move away. Taedong can see the beads of sweat dripping down the column of Jaechan’s neck and he desperately wants to bite him, taste the salty tang of sweat mixing with the overwhelming sweetness of his blood. Taedong lifts the shirt to wipe away some of the sweat and Jaechan jumps when Taedong’s fingertips brush his skin. 

“Your fingers are freezing!” Jaechan yelps. “Why are you so cold?” 

Taedong blinks at his hand. “I don’t know. I suppose, there isn’t much blood in my body. I had never thought of it before.” 

“Is… is the rest of you that cold?” Jaechan asks. 

“I assume so.” 

Jaechan reaches out a trembling hand and carefully touches Taedong’s chest. He gasps slightly, glancing up at Taedong with a strange expression. Behind his eyes, Taedong can see Jaechan thinking hard. 

“Would you…” Jaechan swallows thickly. “If you won’t bite me, or take me when I’m sleeping, would you… lie beside me?” Jaechan nervously pats the side of the bed Taedong is perched on. 

“Of course,” Taedong says. 

Jaechan moves to lie down again and Taedong awkwardly lies beside him. He doesn’t know what to do anything Jaechan doesn’t want, but inside, he’s struggling to stay in control. His fangs are beginning to ache, not from real hunger but from pure desire. Jaechan is so close, so vulnerable. 

Taedong wants to bite him. 

Jaechan inhales sharply before resting half his body on Taedong’s chest. They both jolt at the sudden contact. Jaechan is softer than Taedong expected, and trembling as he hides his face against Taedong’s chest. His body is downright hot compared to Taedong’s own cold skin, and Taedong can feel his rapid heartbeat and how he shakily sucks in breath. Taedong wants to embrace him, but he doesn’t know if Jaechan would welcome that. 

Jaechan adjusts himself so his head is resting against Taedong’s chest, his face turned away from Taedong’s. Taedong can feel Jaechan calming down, and Taedong lies as still as possible as to not disturb him. 

“This is weird,” Jaechan says softly. 

“Hmm?” 

“My ear is right against your chest, but there’s nothing. No sound. You don’t have a heartbeat.” 

“No, I don’t.” 

“It’s strange.”

“I can feel yours,” Taedong says, wondering if Jaechan even wants to hear that. “I can feel you breathe.” 

Jaechan says nothing, instead shifting again so he faces Taedong, his eyes studying Taedong’s face. “Good night, Taedong,” Jaechan says eventually, softly. 

“Night,” Taedong says back, wondering at the tightness in his chest. 

Taedong spends his nights for the rest of the summer like this, with Jaechan sleeping in his arms, his almost naked body pressed up against Taedong’s cold form. After some time, Taedong sheds his own shirt and Jaechan rests his head against Taedong’s bare chest. The feeling of skin on skin threatens Taedong’s self control every night, but Jaechan doesn’t push him away anymore, so Taedong lies perfectly still. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Taedong can feels Jaechan’s fingers tracing the features of his face. Taedong doesn’t really need to sleep, but he pretends to be whenever Jaechan is touching him curiously. Taedong likes the feeling of Jaechan exploring his body, and wants him to keep on touching him. 

It would be so easy to bite Jaechan while he sleeps, to take the smallest amount of blood to take the edge off of Taedong’s hunger. It becomes a more tempting option as Taedong’s fangs start to hurt more and more. Jaechan sleeps so heavily, oblivious to the way Taedong nuzzles him and runs his lips over the long column of his neck. Jaechan’s body is so warm and Taedong can almost taste his blood. A few times, Taedong opens his mouth, fangs hovering over Jaechan’s neck, but he always restrains himself. There would be no better way to shatter the tenuous trust they have than to take advantage of Jaechan while he slept, especially after Jaechan told him to not bite him. 

Even so, Taedong’s fangs are starting to hurt too much and he has to go hunt. 

“I’ll have to leave you alone,” Taedong tells Jaechan. 

Jaechan is looking at him closely, brows knitted together. Carefully and deliberately, Jaechan rests his head on Taedong’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around Taedong. “You could just bite me,” he says in a tiny voice. 

Taedong freezes, certain he’s misheard. “Do you mean that?” he asks, feeling dazed. 

“Yes,” Jaechan replies. He’s trembling slightly. “You should just…” 

“Before, you didn’t want me to,” Taedong protests slightly. “Do you really want me to bite you?” 

“Yes,” Jaechan repeats. “I want you to.”

“But what made you change your mind?” 

Jaechan glances up at him. “Do you not want to? Is that why…” 

“I don’t want you to force yourself. You’re not in any danger if I leave you here.” Taedong sighs. “I don’t want to hurt you, or make you do something you don’t really want to. You were shaking when you told me to bite you.”

Jaechan shifts to rest his forehead on Taedong’s shoulder. “I realized that I’m going to be here with you for a long time,” he says softly. “But if I had to be trapped with anyone, you’re not the worst person to be trapped with. I learned that when the other guy bit me. If I was stuck with him, I probably wouldn’t be alive now. I don’t want to die anymore either. So if I’m going to be here, I don’t mind if you bite me.” He looks up at Taedong. “I might not even mind if you do it.”

Taedong pushes Jaechan gently down against the bed and shifts on top of him. He can feel the way Jaechan’s breath hitches, and how his heart starts racing. Taedong dips his head, hovering above Jaechan’s neck. Jaechan flinches, though, so Taedong reconsiders where he should bite. Biting Jaechan’s neck would be dangerous anyway considering how hungry Taedong was, he wasn’t trying to kill anyone, so he had to be careful. Taedong thought about biting Jaechan’s wrist again, but the wound from his bite had taken too long to heal. 

Finally, Taedong settles between Jaechan’s legs. Jaechan squirms slightly in discomfort, and jumps when Taedong rests his hand on his thigh. Jaechan’s skin is so soft and warm and Taedong wants nothing more than to sink his fangs into him. So he does, biting into the smooth flesh of Jaechan’s inner thigh and relishing the sweetness of his blood. Arousal spikes in his gut and Taedong tightens his grip on Jaechan’s thighs. He wants Jaechan so much, he wants to stay like this, he wants Jaechan to be the kind of lover he had in the old days, the kind that longed for Taedong and waited for him to return. 

Taedong works his jaw open and he can feel Jaechan exhale sharply. His whole body is trembling and Taedong licks at the blood still coming from where he bit. He draws himself up to check on Jaechan, whose body is covered in a sheen of sweat. Jaechan’s eyes are screwed shut and his knuckles are white from gripping the sheets. Taedong carefully loosens Jaechan’s grip and slowly, Jaechan calms down. 

“Are you alright?” Taedong asks, feeling a bit stupid. Clearly, Jaechan isn’t alright, but Jaechan is the one who asked for Taedong to bite him in the first place. What else is Taedong supposed to say to him? 

“I’m okay,” Jaechan says in a thin voice. “I just feel like I’ve been trampled.” 

“Sorry,” Taedong says. He’s been draining Jaechan’s life force, no wonder Jaechan is exhausted. He runs his hand through Jaechan’s hair. “Sleep. I’ll take care of you.” 

The bleeding has stopped by itself so Taedong pulls the sheet over them and cradles Jaechan in his arms. Jaechan’s body feels even more overheated than usual, and despite his drooping eyes, his heart is pounding in his chest. Taedong winces. He can only imagine such a racing heartbeat must hurt, and he hopes that in sleep, Jaechan will be able to regulate his heartbeat again and not feel any pain. 

“What does it feel like,” Taedong asks softly, “when I bite you?” Outside it’s nighttime. Taedong can imagine the moon casting its bright light over their city. 

“Where I’m bitten, it burns,” Jaechan says. “When you’re drinking my blood, I start feeling like I’ll faint. It starts hurting too, after a while, and that makes me feel like fainting more.” Jaechan glances up at Taedong’s stricken expression. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I know it’s something you have to do.” 

“But I don’t have to do it to you if it hurts that much,” Taedong chokes out. 

“What do you feel when you’re drinking my blood? Do you start feeling stronger?” Jaechan asks, lowering his eyes. 

“Yes. I only drink blood when I’m really desperate for it, so when I do, it’s a relief. I start to feel more like myself.” 

“Am I different? The other one mentioned… is my blood sweet?” 

“Yes, it is, more so than other humans. Even Donghan, who eats a lot of young and beautiful humans, commented that you’re sweeter than the others.” Taedong swallows thickly. “When I drink from you, I feel aroused. Drinking from you is pleasurable. But I feel bad knowing now that it hurts you.” 

Taedong had never thought about it before. When he was young, his partners seemed happy to be bitten and never showed any signs of pain or discomfort. Afterwards, he killed his victims when he drank from them, so he never considered if the drinking alone would cause pain - and did it matter? They ended up dead anyway. 

“Don’t you have to…” Jaechan flushes. “You know, sleep with people too?” 

“Yes.” In fact, Taedong was starting to need to go out and do that kind of hunting. 

“Well,” Jaechan sounds hopeful, “that probably wouldn’t hurt. So maybe, you could…?” 

“Do you want that?” Taedong’s head is spinning. “Before, you couldn’t bear it if I touched you but now-” 

“I don’t mind you touching me!” Jaechan’s face flushes red. “I’ve been sleeping in your arms, haven’t I? If it upsets you to drink from me now that you know it’s painful… but you still need to. What if I don’t want to think… I want you to be with me.” Jaechan pushes himself closer to Taedong. “You brought me here. Isn’t it easier for you if you just take me?” 

“It would be, but I’m serious about not wanting to hurt you. If I knew drinking your blood hurt you that much, I would have never done it.” 

“It might not hurt me,” Jaechan says. 

“It might not,” Taedong concedes. “But I won’t do it now. You’re not healthy enough. I just drank your blood, if I take more of your energy, I may kill you.” 

Jaechan nods slowly and curls up closer against Taedong’s shoulder. Taedong strokes Jaechan’s hair and Jaechan closes his eyes and leans into his touch. 

“Are you having fun with your pet?” 

Taedong turns to see Donghan, smirking at him. It’s almost dawn, Taedong has just come back from searching for a sleeping victim to sate his lust with, thinking the whole time that it might be the last time he’d have to resort to such tactics, that if it really didn’t hurt Jaechan, then Jaechan would willingly let Taedong lie with him. It could mean Jaechan actually desired him. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Taedong says. 

“I smelled blood from your room the other day,” Donghan says, beginning to circle Taedong. “All of that protesting that you weren’t keeping a pet, that biting him was a mistake… seems like those were all empty words.” 

“They weren’t empty,” Taedong growls. “He wanted me to bite him.” 

Donghan raises his brows. “Really? So you’ve been brainwashing him into being your happy little pet?” 

“I’m not doing anything like that!” 

“It’s our way,” Donghan says grandly. “It’s what you’re used to, having a little pet available to please yourself with, so it’s no wonder you’ve gone back to that way of life.” 

“It’s not like that at all!” 

“No?” Donghan grins. “Then what is it exactly that you’re doing? Do you think he’s your lover? He’s a human, barely older than a child. He’ll die in the blink of an eye too, compared to how slowly you’ll age, how long you’ll live. If he’s not something for you to play with, what is he exactly? What’s your plan for the long term?” 

“That’s none of your business!” 

“You don’t know what your plan is,” Donghan sounds triumphant. “But until you figure it out you’ll just have fun playing with him.”

“You’re just jealous because I won’t share,” Taedong snarls. 

“Those kinds of beauties are a dime a dozen if you know where to look,” Donghan says flippantly. “Anyway, I’ve always found that leaving your meal still breathing at the end of it causes problems down the line. It seems cruel. It hurts them to drain their life force, so why let them live and suffer at the end of it?” 

“I’m not like you.” 

“No, you’re not,” Donghan steps into Taedong’s space, grinning and baring his fangs. “I think you’re even worse than me.” 

Taedong storms away, but can’t shake Donghan’s words. He knows very well that an undercurrent of wrong runs through all of his interactions with Jaechan. He knows, to some degree, that Jaechan may only be adapting so he can survive being locked up indefinitely. He knows that Jaechan offering his body may be another way Jaechan is coping and trying to live. Taedong knows all this.

And yet, when he returns to his room and finds Jaechan waiting for him, seemingly eager to be in his company and eager to curl up in Taedong’s arms, he finds it difficult to dwell on Donghan’s barbed words. 

More and more of Taedong’s time becomes monopolized by Jaechan. He doesn’t need to go hunting for bottom feeders to drink blood because Jaechan lets Taedong bite him now, even when Taedong isn’t really feeling the pang of hunger. Frankly, Taedong is wrapped around Jaechan’s finger. He never wants to be apart from his human lover - because that’s what Jaechan really seems like, a lover - and so Taedong remains by Jaechan’s side as much as he possibly can. 

“I want to sleep with you,” Jaechan tells him, running his hands over Taedong’s shoulders. “You haven’t bitten me in a while, and you must be getting to the point where you need to have sex. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” 

It has been. Taedong pulls Jaechan into his arms and revels at the way Jaechan melts against him, closing his eyes and sighing happily. It’s nothing like before, when Jaechan would flinch and shrink backwards if Taedong even gave the impression he might come closer. It’s also been a little while since Taedong drank Jaechan’s blood. Despite being very soft from his long time spent in captivity - though Taedong wishes he could think of a better word for it - Jaechan was relatively hardy. Moreover, he was eager for Taedong to lie with him, and Taedong wanted to finally indulge him. 

Jaechan’s skin is soft and pale and Taedong almost loses focus and bites him. He can feel the heat of Jaechan’s body against his and wants nothing more than to just sink his fangs into his neck. Instead, Taedong eases Jaechan onto his front and runs his hands down Jaechan’s back. Jaechan shivers. 

“Your hands are so cold,” he whines softly. 

“Sorry,” Taedong says. “I’m also sorry that it’s been a while since I’ve done this with a partner that’s awake.” He internally cringes. There’s no way to get around what he usually has to do, and there really isn’t a much better way to say he’s been taking people who have been unconscious. 

“It’s okay,” Jaechan says gently. “You don’t have to do that kind of thing anymore.” 

Taedong hums in agreement, stroking his fingers over Jaechan’s bare skin before reaching to start easing him open. Jaechan lifts his hips and lets out soft noises of pleasure and it makes Taedong start to itch with impatience. He wants to touch Jaechan now, he doesn’t want to waste any more time, but he doesn’t want to hurt Jaechan.

“It’s cold,” Jaechan squeaks when Taedong finally begins to press into him. “It’s big and cold.”

“Sorry,” Taedong says. “Can’t help that.” 

Jaechan just squirms as Taedong continues pushing into him. Taedong’s body feels overwhelmed with heat. He hasn’t felt this kind of pleasure in so long. It hits him in waves and threatens to pull him under. Taedong wants so much to just lose himself in Jaechan’s heat, but he restrains himself. It would be disastrous, not to mention deadly, if Taedong really lost control. The goal is to not hurt Jaechan, Taedong reminds himself. 

Taedong’s hips roll against Jaechan’s as he drinks in the soft, pleasured sounds Jaechan makes and the way Jaechan’s energy flows into his body. Sating his lust feels so different from drinking blood; it’s a slower process but it feels almost as though Taedong’s body is warming up. He can feel Jaechan squeezing him, arching, and rocking his hips back to meet Taedong’s thrusts. His body is so warm and Taedong presses himself flat against Jaechan’s back, trying to absorb more of Jaechan’s body heat. 

When Jaechan orgasms, Taedong feels Jaechan’s energy pour into his body and he groans from how good it feels. Usually, this kind of thing makes Taedong feel dirty and he isn’t able to get rid of the shame of taking advantage of sleeping victims, but this time Taedong feels relaxed as he pulls himself from Jaechan. His human lover is sweating and shaking, and Taedong holds him gently. 

“Did I hurt you?” he asks softly. 

Jaechan shakes his head. “No, just tired,” he murmurs. 

Taedong kisses Jaechan’s sweaty forehead and strokes his hair until he feels Jaechan fall asleep. 

Donghan has a knowing smirk on his face that Taedong tries to ignore. It doesn’t matter because of course Donghan knows. He knows, and he’s jealous because Taedong won’t let him touch Jaechan. 

“What was he like?” Donghan asks. 

Taedong scowls. “None of your business.” 

“So good you won’t share?” 

“Even if it was bad I wouldn’t share with the likes of you.” 

“Oh? The likes of me?” Donghan grins and bares his fangs. “That’s rich coming from you. You have your own personal plaything locked up for yourself, but I’m the bad one?” 

“You kill for sport,” Taedong growls. “You like killing humans.” 

“And you’ve always liked having humans at your beck and call, to offer you their bodies or their blood for your pleasure. At least I admit to the way I am. You’re still pretending that you’re doing nothing wrong.”

“Jaechan wants me to bite him, wants me to sleep with him,” Taedong says defensively. “You trick humans into thinking you’re one of them and by the time they’ve realized, you’ve drained their energy and bitten them!” 

“You didn’t trick your little pet into thinking you were a nice, benevolent incubus?” Donghan smirks. “Sure, I might have helped by scaring him. Of course you look good in comparison. But we’re monsters, Taedong. Don’t forget that.” 

“Do you think I’m a monster?” 

Jaechan looks up at him from where he’s nestled in Taedong’s arms, half asleep. 

“No, I don’t think that. Why?” 

“Because I am one,” Taedong says, stroking his fingers through Jaechan’s hair. “I am a monster.”

“But you don’t act like one,” Jaechan offers, resting his head on Taedong’s chest. 

“I don’t? I drink your blood and drain your life force. How’s that not acting like a monster?” 

“But you need to do that to keep living.” Jaechan glances up at Taedong. “If our places were switched, would you think I was a monster? Would you hate me?” 

“No, of course not.” 

“See?” Jaechan closes his eyes. “I don’t think you’re a monster at all.” 

Taehyun is avoiding him. 

Well, no, not avoiding him. Avoidance would really be beneath someone of Taehyun’s status. Taehyun is refusing to acknowledge Taedong’s existence is more accurate. Which is fair, if Taedong’s honest. He was a believer in Taehyun’s methods about hunting for many years, and quickly threw it all away for one human. Taedong knows what Taehyun must think about him, so he can’t really object to Taehyun turning up his nose whenever he sees Taedong. 

Junwoo also isn’t explicitly ignoring Taedong, but he does seem to be keeping his distance. That probably stings more than Taehyun ignoring him, but Taedong has to figure that Junwoo probably finds him to be scary and unhinged knowing how quickly he reneged on his vows to only eat bottom feeders and leave other humans alone. 

Only Donghan talks to him, not that Taedong wants him to. Donghan is all knowing smirks and flashes of fangs and Taedong wishes Donghan would keep his distance too, but he won’t. 

Taedong’s only solace is alone with Jaechan in their room, in their bed, with him in his arms. 

Taedong has gotten used to Jaechan’s weight on his lap, the way Jaechan wraps his arms around his shoulders and breathes against his neck. Jaechan’s energy always flows so strongly into him and Taedong worries that he’ll draw too much out of him and hurt him. But Jaechan always clings to him tightly and sinks against Taedong, reassuring him that it doesn’t hurt. 

“I love you,” Taedong murmurs, “you’re mine.” 

“Yes,” Jaechan says softly. “I’m yours.” 

Taedong pulls Jaechan closer, nosing along the side of his neck. He can smell blood, so sweet, so close… 

“I want you to,” Jaechan squeezes Taedong tighter. “You can.”

Taedong licks at the tender skin and then opens his mouth and sinks his fangs into Jaechan’s neck.

**Author's Note:**

> congratulations if you've made it to the end 
> 
> you can follow me on Twitter @jy_kim8008 !!


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